Finding Your Soul's Purpose

by Rev. Jim Webb

One of the questions asked most frequently by people
"on the path" is "how do I find my soul's purpose?" Although the answer may
seem simple and obvious, reaching the dream of fulfilling your life's
purpose requires planning, persistence and the willingness to examine and
discard old thought patterns that keep you in conflict, and thus unable to
pursue your life's goals. Below, I have listed some tips on overcoming the
obstacles to achieving your soul's purpose.

Know Your Purpose
How to know your soul's purpose can be summarized
simply by the title of a book by Dr. Susan Jeffers Do What You Love and
the Money Will Follow. However, many of us have been so traumatized by
difficult experiences in our life, and many of us have had to struggle so
much that we haven't had a chance to reflect on the things that we love,
or we have tucked those dreams away to be dealt with some day when we
don't have to handle the "crisis du jour".

You can get away from your current crisis by going into
meditation and asking yourself the following questions. What activities
bring me joy and fulfillment? What activities make me feel like time is
standing still? What activities draw upon my most divine qualities? By
answering these questions, you can make significant strides toward finding
your soul's purpose.

Develop Your Inner Counsel
As you go within, you tap into the innate source of
wisdom that is your eternal (or soul) energy. This energy knows of its
connection to God. This energy knows of its worthiness of all the gifts
and blessings of abundance. This energy knows how to navigate the earth
for success. As you develop this "inner counsel" you are strengthening
your connection with God, improving your ability to receive blessings and
building your "kingdom of heaven" from within. As you build your dreams
from within this place, your dreams will inevitably manifest in your outer
world because everything in your outer world is a reflection of your inner
consciousness.

Minimize Distractions
One of the key distractions from our soul's purpose is
the "outside chatter" brought on by others. Others (our families, friends
or society) have expectations of us. They have a script that they believe
that we should follow. That script may not be in alignment with our
heart's desires, but may be based on our ability to meet their needs. We
may have bought into this script, and when we deviate from this script to
follow our hearts we feel guilty and conflicted. We then create a
reflection of this guilt and conflict in the form of "conflama"
(conflict and drama). We then quickly retreat from our dreams.

We must understand that their dreams for us are based
on their consciousness, which may be a consciousness of lack, victimhood,
fear and doubt. As our consciousness evolves, we may not have these same
motivations because we are vibrating more with the knowledge of God's
unconditional love. As a result, our goals and dreams change and others
may not understand it. That is why it is important to add other
like-minded individuals to your "circle of support."

Develop and Prune Your "Circle of Support"
The "Circle of Support" is a group you devise
specifically to help you on your life's purpose. Choose these individuals
carefully as if they are the Board of Directors of your new company. They
will provide counsel, support, wisdom and will encourage you as much as
you need it. They must reflect your new consciousness of abundance, peace and faith in God's
blessings. Share your dreams lavishly with those who support you.

However, you must hide your dream jealously from those
who do not share your values or faith. Remember, you can't expect
encouragement from someone who has failedthey do not know success. You
do not have to banish these people from your life, but you must banish
them from your "circle of support" in your new endeavor.

Trust God
There will be days of doubt. When I left a high paying,
high status position to pursue my dream of full-time ministry there were
days of doubt. On those days, I had to trust God, surrender my doubts and
fears through a ritual of prayer, meditation, and emotional release, and
trust that all would be well. All is quite well and I have never been
happier or more fulfilled (or more prosperous). This was part of God's
plan for me, and is a part of God's plan for all of us -- to be happy and
fulfilled. Remember, the Bible said "be happy and fulfilled" 863 times.
God will walk us through the difficult days of doubt (often referred to as
"The Dark Nights of the Soul"). According to Jim Marion's book Putting
on the Mind of Christ, those times enable our true divine nature to
emerge from the distortions of our human consciousness.

Recognize Your First Steps
Your soul's purpose can be fulfilled in the most
innocent of actions. It does not always manifest in the grandiose ways
that your ego would dictate. Regardless of how it may manifest, the
essence of your soul's purpose is to receive love from the creator and
disperse this love onto the Earth Plane. You may already be fulfilling
this task but judging yourself (or your task) to be insignificant. For
example, if you are a customer service representative, your task may be to
spread light to all the people that you contact. Your soul has chosen this
job as a way you can reach many people effortlessly. When you see this as
your ministry (without judgment) you can clearly focus on your divine
task, and you are likely to be more fulfilled and more successful.

Do Your Part
God can only do so much. The rest is up to us. The
person who prayed, meditated and visualized about winning the lottery
could not expect God to go to 7-11 to buy the ticket. We must do our part.
Go within to understand your life's purpose, build your support network,
trust God, recognize how far you've already come, and let the God within
lead you to your birthright of happiness and fulfillment in all ways.

Rev. Jim Webb serves as the Senior Minister of the Takoma Park
Chapel.